NASA couldn’t be certain that all of Orion’s parts worked properly during the Artemis I test flight. There were no humans to breathe its air or communicate using its radio. Testing these parts will be the main goal of Artemis II.

During the astronauts’ 10-day journey, NASA scientists on Earth will be watching. These scientists will make sure Orion’s life support systems—the technology that keeps the ship’s air breathable—are working. The crew will try to communicate with mission control through radio and video from beyond the moon. They’ll even make sure the toilet works! The team will do all this in an area the size of an average bedroom. They’ll squeeze into a circular space that’s 16.5 feet (5 m) across.

When Artemis II launches, Orion will first orbit, or circle, close to Earth for about a day. If anything goes wrong, an emergency system will help the crew quickly return home. If all goes well, the ship will blast its engines for the four-day trip to the moon (see Artemis II Mission Path, right). The pull of the moon’s gravity will swing Orion around the moon. Then Earth’s gravity will pull the spacecraft back to our home planet.

Artemis I could test only some of Orion’s parts. There were no humans to breathe its air or talk on its radio. Testing these parts will be the main goal of Artemis II.

It will take astronauts on a 10-day journey. NASA scientists on Earth will be watching. They’ll make sure Orion’s life support systems are working. These are what keeps the ship’s air breathable. The crew will try to talk with mission control from beyond the moon. They’ll do this through radio and video. They’ll even make sure the toilet works! The team will do all this squeezed into a small round space. It’s the size of an average bedroom. It’s only 16.5 feet (5 m) across.

Artemis II will launch. Then Orion will orbit close to Earth. It will circle the planet for about a day. NASA will watch in case anything goes wrong. If it does, an emergency system will return the crew home quickly. The ship will blast its engines if all goes well. It will start on a four-day trip to the moon (see Artemis II Mission Path, right). Orion will swing around the moon using its pull of gravity. Then Earth’s gravity will pull the spacecraft back home.

The Artemis II crew has been training since June 2023. They began by learning how the Orion spacecraft works.
Then they used a special machine called a simulator to practice flying it.

While the crew trains, NASA’s engineers are getting Orion ready. During the Artemis I test flight, they found a few things that didn’t work properly. Thanks to that test, the engineers are able to fix those parts before Artemis II’s launch.

NASA will use what the astronauts and mission control learn from Artemis II to make improvements for the next mission: Artemis III, scheduled for launch in 2027. If all goes well, that mission will be the first to land humans on the moon in more than 50 years!

Scientists today are still finding more to learn from those Apollo moon rocks. No one knows what Artemis III’s crew might find as they explore new areas of the moon’s surface.

“This is going to be the beginning of discoveries that we will continue to make for generations,” says Glover.

The Artemis II crew has been training since June 2023. They began by learning how the Orion spacecraft works. Then they used a special machine to practice flying it. It’s called a simulator.

NASA’s engineers are getting Orion ready while the crew trains. They found a problem during the Artemis I test flight. A few things didn’t work correctly. The engineers can fix those parts before Artemis II’s launch.

NASA will use what astronauts and mission control learn from Artemis II. They’ll make upgrades for the next mission. It’s called Artemis III. It is planned to launch in September 2026. That mission could land humans on the moon. That hasn’t happened in more than 50 years!

Scientists today are still learning from those Apollo moon rocks. Artemis III’s crew will explore new areas of the moon’s surface. No one knows what they might find. “This is going to be the beginning of discoveries that we will continue to make for generations,” says Glover.